Monday, 7 November 2016

It has been a while since I posted anything, but now there is much to say.

As Editor in Chief of Nordland Publishing, I have the honour of being involved in some stellar projects. In addition, I am a member of a local writing group in Oslo (the Oslo Writer's League) and we have a new book being launched.

So, the first news is the announcement of my story, "Night Folk" which is appearing in Some Shape of Beauty, the fourth release from the OWLs. This book, as are all the OWL publications, is a great vehicle for enabling new authors to get their name in print. The quality of the writing is very high, and as there are some 200 members in the group, you can imagine that the selection process has to be, well, selective!

The book is launched on November 10th, and I will be there to help promote and generally give it a good sendoff. All proceeds from the book go to the charity Redd Barna (Save the Children) so it is both a good book and a worthy cause.

The launch will take place at Grunnerløka library, a lovely old building, with a great presence.

Somewhere
on this page is a hidden number. Collect all the numbers from all the authors’
posts, and then add them up. Once you’ve added all the numbers, and if I am
your last author, please head to the official website and click on the ENTER
HERE page to find the entry form. Only entries with the correct number will
qualify to win.

Meet the newest members of the Vampire Guard, where legend and myth meet science and technology.
Jonas Forge, vampire. Once a spy and soldier, now a cop, Forge enjoys the life he’s built with his friends in Flint, Ohio.
Blair Turner, PhD. Blair, a vampire and computer hacker with exceptional skills, shares a powerful empathic bond with Forge, his soulmate.
Declan, vampire, ex-pirate, ex-fur trapper, thief, and con man. Declan is Forge’s former lover and soulmate to Lucas Coate.
Lucas Coate, MD, Flint’s medical examiner. A werewolf living amongst vampires, Lucas is also one of Forge’s best friends.
Their lives become complicated when an impending presidential visit throws them headlong into a world of high tech vampire spies and espionage. Recruited into the Vampire Guard by the secret society of the Akhkharu Nasaru, they uncover a werewolf terrorist organization known as the Qiguan.
Together they must thwart a murder attempt on the open waters of Lake Superior while tracking a previously unknown biological weapon controlled by the Qiquan—a weapon that may very well mean death for one of them.

Excerpt:

Lucas decided it was his good luck—no, it was a real
blessing—neither Declan nor Forge could read his mind. Right now he wanted to
kill them both. Lucas could do it too. Ten minutes wolfed out was all he
needed. Vampires might be faster, but werewolves were stronger.

Being in a surveillance van with three vampires wasn’t the fun and
excitement one might expect it to be. Lucas liked Kai, but he was sure Ori
would agree that in this circumstance, Kai would have to die too.

Forge was pacing, at least as well as a man could inside a van
with three other decently sized men. Lucas was leaning against one side, gazing
at a camera feed, and doing his best to stay out of the way and not strangle
Forge.

Declan put both hands on Forge’s shoulders and said, “Jonas, he’ll
be fine.”

“He’s never done anything like this.” Forge turned and stared at
the monitor. “Damn, I wish I could see him and not just hear him.”

“Jonas, it’s a pizza parlor, and she’s a research scientist. What
the hell can she do to him?” Declan asked. Forge and Kai both turned to look at
him. Declan heaved a sigh and shoved Forge into the seat beside Kai. “Relax.
You can hear every word they say and feel what Blair feels. If anything goes
wrong, you’ll know it practically before he does. You and I muddled through
information collection with far less support and lived.” Declan rolled his eyes
and focused on Lucas.

“I should go out there and back him up. In case.” Forge started to
stand, but Lucas helped Declan push him back down.

“In case of what? They run out of pepperoni?” Lucas asked.

“She might recognize you,” Kai said. “You’re the head detective of
this town. There is no need to take the risk someone will recognize you and
blow everything. Besides, when making contact with someone with the express purpose
of entering some sort of relationship with them, having your bond mate hanging
around a few feet away is a bad
idea.”

“He speaks from experience,” Ori chimed in and chuckled.

“You all do realize I can hear you, right?” Blair’s voice was
crisp and clear coming from the speaker.

“Heads up. There she is. She’s about to walk through the door,”
Kai said. He pointed to the monitor. “Got to love predictable people.”

Book Two of The Vampire Guard,
Quarry, will be available for pre-order from DSP Publications on October Seventeen,
Two thousand and sixteen.
http://bit.ly/1UKdyvj

Author bio:

Elizabeth Noble lives by the
adage “I can’t not write”. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t make up
stories and eventually she learned how to write them down. A part of every day
is spent living in worlds she created that are filled with intrigue and
espionage. Using a real love of scifi
and urban fantasy highlighted by twisty plots she crafts stories taking place
in a slightly altered version of our world.

When she’s not chronicling the 11 adventures of her many characters Elizabeth is a veterinary nurse
living in her native Cleveland, Ohio. She shares her little brick house with an
adorable canine princess and her tabby cat sidekick. Elizabeth is a fan of
baseball, basketball (go Cavs and Indians!) and gardening. She can often be
found working in her ‘outside office’ listening to classic rock and plotting
her next novel waiting for it to be dark enough to gaze at the stars.

Elizabeth received several amateur
writing awards. Since being published two of her novels have received honorable
mentions in the Rainbow Awards. Her novel Jewel
Cave was a runner up in the 2015 Rainbow awards in the Gay Mystery/Thriller
category.

Thursday, 7 July 2016

I like to experiment with different ways to be 'seen' by the wider world. I have tried many forums, peer review sites, platforms for sharing writing (wattpad and others) and just about anything that I find.

Some months back, I published two short stories for free on Smashwords. They got a modicum of attention, with over 700 downloads between them.
Not bad, I suppose. But they did not lead to any sales of my novel, so while my 'name' may be slightly better known, it did not really do anything for me.

UNTIL NOW.

I have just received a contract to convert my short story, Salvage, into an audio drama. This will be professionally made, with voice actors, sound effects and so on.

It is quite and exciting idea, and I look forward to hearing it.

So, I just wanted to share that, but also stress that self promotion works, even when it does not appear to be doing anything. The more you have 'out there' the better a chance someone has of finding you.